Filial piety is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, and the story of the Twenty-Four Filial Pieties has been passed down for a long time and inspired generations of people. To this day, there are still many people who do not know the story of the twenty-four filial pieties, or know very little, in order to promote traditional virtues, I feel the need to publicize the story of the twenty-four filial pieties of the ancient twenty-four filial pieties to their parents. Not only that, but also to introduce their life deeds, so that everyone can have a more comprehensive understanding of the filial piety in the story. From today's point of view, the ancients were often influenced by the feudal code of ethics, and some practices were not advisable, so they should not blindly imitate them, and their intentions could be appreciated. The filial piety introduced below is Wang Xiang, and the story about him is lying on the ice and asking for carp.
Wang Xiang (王祥), courtesy name Xiuzheng, was a native of Linyi (present-day Linyi, Shandong Province), who lived from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin dynasties. Wang Xiang was born filial piety and lost his mother at an early age, while his stepmother Zhu Shi was unloving and slandered Wang Xiang many times, so Wang Xiang lost his father's love. The stepmother often asked Wang Xiang to clean up the cow dung, and Wang Xiang did not complain, but instead had a more respectful and cautious attitude. If his parents were sick, Wang Xiang could not undress and sleep, and waited in front of the bed day and night to taste the soup medicine.
The stepmother wanted to eat sashimi, and it was freezing cold and the river was frozen. Wang Xiang came to the river, undressed, wanted to melt the ice with his body, and then went into the water to catch fish. As a result, as soon as Wang Xiang undressed, the river magically melted, and two fish jumped out on their own, so Wang Xiang carried the fish back.
The stepmother wanted to eat roast yellow finches again, so dozens of yellows flew into the tent, and Wang Xiang easily caught them and offered them to the stepmother. The townspeople were amazed and thought that Wang Xiang's filial piety had touched the heavens and the earth, which was why it was like this. There is a danqi (similar to an apple) tree that bears fruit, and the stepmother orders Wang Xiang to guard under the tree, and whenever it is windy and rainy, Wang Xiang always holds the tree and cries, and will not leave because of it.
In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and Wang Xiang took his stepmother and brother to Lujiang to avoid disasters and lived in seclusion for more than thirty years. The prefecture and county government asked Wang Xiang to come out as an official, but Wang Xiang refused to obey his orders because he wanted to support his stepmother. Later, when his stepmother died, Wang Xiang was so sad and haggard during the mourning period that he was able to get up on crutches.
Cao Wei Xuzhou Assassinated Shi Lü Qian recruited Wang Xiang to be the other driver of Xuzhou (the status was only lower than that of The Assassin History), and Wang Xiang thought that he was old and refused to accept it. Wang Xiang's half-brother Wang Lan repeatedly persuaded and prepared a cart of cattle, and Wang Xiang agreed to become an official. Lü Qian entrusted Wang Xiang with a heavy responsibility and entrusted Xuzhou affairs to Wang Xiang. At that time, there were many bandits, and Wang Xiang encouraged the soldiers to break the enemy repeatedly, so that the state borders were quiet and the politics and religion were widely practiced. At that time, people sang praises to Wang Xiang: "The well-being of the sea is really dependent on Wang Xiang." The state is not empty, it is the credit of the other driver. ''
Later, Wang Xiang was recommended to serve as the county commander of Wen County, and was promoted several times to serve as the grand si nong (an official in charge of state finances). Sima Yi's son Sima Shi took power and deposed Emperor Cao Fang and made Cao Fu emperor. After Cao Xi succeeded to the throne, Wang Xiang was given the title of Marquis of Guannei and became a lieutenant colonel. Soon, the general Yiqiu Jian, who was loyal to Cao Wei, raised an army against Sima Shi, and Wang Xiang participated in the suppression of Yiqiu Jian and was given the title of Marquis of Banzai Ting. Cao Xian inspected Taixue and appointed Wang Xiang as the Third Elder of the State (in charge of indoctrination). Wang Xiang faces the south with a few staffs, pretending to be a teacher, and Cao Xiang faces the north, like Wang Xiang asking questions.
At that time, Cao Xian was not willing to be a puppet of the Sima family, and there were several struggles. After Sima Shi's younger brother Sima Zhao came to power, Cao Xi wanted to get rid of Sima Zhao, but there was no support from his ministers, so he led his bodyguards to try to kill Sima Fu, but the soldiers were defeated and killed. The chancellor held a funeral for Cao Xian, and Wang Xiang cried and said, "The old minister is incompetent! "All the courtiers were ashamed of what they heard. Soon, Wang Xiang was appointed Sikong (司空), became a taiwei (太尉), and concurrently served as a waiter, and was also given the title of Marquis of Suiling (睢陵侯) with 1,600 households.
After Sima Zhao became the queen of Jin, Wang Xiang and Xun Yan went to meet him. Xun Yan said to Wang Xiang, "The King of Jin is honorable, we should bow down to him and pay homage." Wang Xiang disagreed, saying, "The King of Jin is indeed honorable, but he is still the prime minister of the Wei Dynasty." We are the three dukes of the Wei Dynasty, only one level worse than him, and the ranks in the court are similar, where are the three dukes of the Son of Heaven bowing to others! This would damage the prestige of the Wei Dynasty and the virtues of the King of Jin, and I would not do so. When he saw Sima Zhao, Xun Yan knelt down and worshipped, but Wang Xiangzuo was the only one. Sima Zhao praised Wang Xiang and said, "I only learned today how much you value me!" ”
After Sima Zhao's death, his son Sima Yan ascended the throne as emperor and established the Jin Dynasty. Wang Xiang was appointed Taibao (the teacher of the crown prince Sima Zheng, who was Emperor Hui of Jin), and jin was made the Duke of Suiling. Sima Yan had just claimed the title of emperor and the founding of the country, so he humbly accepted advice, and Wang Xiang, as an old courtier with high moral standing, was very much valued by Sima Yan.
Wang Xiang considered himself old and repeatedly asked to resign from the government, but was not allowed. Wang Xiang insisted on resigning, and Sima Yan had to agree, but maintained Wang Xiang's position as Feng Lu was the same as before. Sima Yan also gave Wang Xiang various rewards such as carriages, mansions, one million dollars, five hundred silks, bedding for beds, and bodyguards and retinues. Before Wang Xiang died of illness, he instructed his family to bury him. After his death, Sima Yan rewarded Wang Xiang with funeral gifts.
Reference: Book of Jin, Biography III